Textile sizing copolymer compositions and process for applying the same



2,917,478 1 Patented D 5 1 959 TEXTILE SIZING COPOLYMER COMPOSITIONS AND PROCESS FOR APPLYING THE SAME Claims priority, application Germany November 18, 1955 6 Claims. (Cl. 260--33.6)

The present invention relates to the sizing of textile filaments; more particularly it concerns a process for sizing textile filaments, which comprises treating the filaments with a non-aqueous solution of benzine-soluble copolymers produced from acid esters of a,B-ethylene-dicarboxylic acids with alcohols containing more than 8 carbon atoms, and from copolymerisable vinyl compounds having alkyl radicals which contain more than 8 carbon atoms. If desired, further copolymerisable vinyl compounds may be applied in the production of the said benzine-soluble copolymers.

a,/3-Ethylene-dicarboxylic acids on which the copolymers to be used as sizing agents are based are, for example, maleic acid, fumaric acid, or itaconic acid, and the alcohols containing more than 8 carbon atoms are, for example, decyl, do'decyl or octadecyl alcohol. As copolymerisable vinylcompounds having alkyl radicals which contain more than 8 carbon atoms, there may be used compounds such as vinyl stearate, acrylic acid-isopropyl-cyclohexyl ester, methacrylic acid dodecyl ester and dido'decyl fumarate. Further copolymerisable vinyl compounds in which the copolymers to be used as sizing agents may also be based, are compounds such as styrene, or its substitution products, bntadiene, isobutylene, vinyl esters such as vinyl acetate, acrylic acid ester or methacrylic acid ester as well as vinyl ethers, the proportion of these compounds in the copolymers being such that their solubility in benzine is retained.

The copolymers proposed as sizing agents may be prepared according to conventional processes, i.e. by copolymerisation in bulk, solution or aqueous dispersion. Especially suitable copolymers are those obtainable by the process described in copending application Serial Number 559,794, filed by Herbert Bartl on January 18, 1956, and assigned to the same assignee, as well as those wherein the content of free carboxylic acid groups is so small that the copolymers are insoluble in aqueous alkali.

Compared with the known benzine-soluble sizing agents based on linseed oil, the benzine-soluble sizing agents of the invention distinguish themselves by the following advantages: they do not resinify o'n storage of the goods sized therewith, they remain readily capable of being washed out and they do not impair the strength of the sized filaments.

Textile filaments may be sized by means of the proposed agents either in the form of hanks or in the form of balls, such as cakes, reel-wreaths or cross-reels, by immersing the material to be sized in a solution of the sizing agents in benzine, until the air has escaped from the textile material. After soaking the textile filaments with the solution of the sizing agents in benzine, the excess solution is advantageously removed by centrifuging and the filaments are then dried at temperatures of about 80 90 C. When the solvent is evaporated, the full sizing effect is already reached. This is a further substantial advantage compared with the linseed-benzine-sizing, which requires, as is well known, drying the textile material after evaporation of the solvent first at 40-50 C. for

about one day and then at room temperature for a further 2-3 days.

The sizing agents of the invention are not only suitable for sizing smooth warps such as taffetas or satins, but also for sizing crepe yarns instead of the linseed oil sizing which up to now has almost exclusively been used for this purpose.

The removal of the sizing agents of the. invention can be carried out by mere treatment with soap, i.e. without free alkali, a fact which is especially important when desizing acetaterayon warps.

The sizing agents of the present inventio'n can also be used with advantage in combination with water-repellent agents such as paraffins or waxes; in this way it is possible to produce loom-finished fabrics which are water-proof and can be used for the manufacture of umbrellas and mackintoshes. The special advantage of the new sizing agents as against the hitherto used linseed-oil-benzine sizing agents, chiefly consists in that the fabrics have'no tendency of becoming tender even on prolonged storage,

- a tendency which becomes often evident with linseed-oil-,

benzine-sizings already after a few months.

The following examples serve to illustrate the invention without, however, limiting the scope thereo'f.

Example 1 80 grams of a copolymer consists of:

65 parts by weight of maleic acid octadecyl-semi-ester, 15 parts by weight of methacrylic acid dodecyl ester, and 20 parts by weight of styrene are dissolved in one litre of test benzine, and 500 grams of viscose rayon hanks of the metric number are briefly dipped into the solution. The hanks are then centrifuged until they have a moisture content of about 40 percent and dried at C. An outstanding sizing effect is thus achieved which excels in a very good setting of the viscose rayon thread. The threads sized in this way can subsequently be processed into a taifeta fabric,

the threads having a closeness of approximately 50 threads per centimetre.

Example 2 Example 3 grams of a copolymer consisting of:

25 parts by weight of maleic acid dodecyl-semi-ester, 30 parts by weight of maleic acid octadecyl-semi-ester, 15 parts by weight of fumaric acid dodecyl ester, and 30 parts by weight of styrene,

are dissolved in 1 litre of test benzine and 500 grams of viscose rayon hanks are soaked in the solution. The banks are subsequently centrifuged until the moisture content is approximately 40 percent, and then dried at 8090 C. The thus-treated threads are excellently sized. A warp having about 45 threads per centimetre produced with the sized threads, and a woolen yarn being used as weft, yields a textile material after weaving from which the size may be removed by a simple treatment with a liquor at 40-50 C. and containing about 4 grams of soap per litre, without the woolen parts of the fabric being A damaged by alkali.

We claim:

1. A process of sizing viscose rayon filaments which comprises immersing the filaments in a benzine solution of a copolymer of 65% by weight of mono-octadecyl maleate, 15% by weight of dodecyl niethacrylate, and 20% by weight of styrene, removing the viscose filaments from said solution, and drying said filaments.

2. A process of sizing acetate rayon filaments which comprises immersing the filaments in a benzine solution of a copolymer of 65% by weight of mono-octadecylmaleate, 15% by weight of dodecyl-methacrylate, and 20% by weight of styrene, removing the filaments from the solution, and drying said filaments until the benzine evaporates.

3. A process of sizing rayon filaments which comprises immersing the filaments in a benzine solution of a copolymer of 25% by weight of mono-dodecyl-maleate, 30% by weight ofmono-octadecyl-maleate, 15 by weight of dodecyl fumarate, and 30% by weight ofstyrene, removing the rayon filaments from the solution, and drying said filaments until the benzine is evaporated.

4. As a novel textile sizing composition, a benzine solution of a copolymer of polymerizable ingredients consisting of (l) a monoester of an ethylenically unsaturated afi-dicarboXylic acid and a monohydric alcohol of more than 8 carbon atoms; (2) a monomer selected from the group consisting of (a) an ester of acrylic acid and a monohydric alcohol of more than 8 carbon atoms, (b) an ester of methacrylic acid and a monohydric alcohol of more than 8 carbon atoms, (0) a diester of an u,/3-eth ylenically unsaturated dicarboxylic acid and a rnonohydric alcohol of more than 8 carbon atoms, and (d) a vinyl ester of a fatty acid of more than 8 carbon atoms; and (3) a compound selected from the group consisting of styrene, isobutylene, butadiene, and vinyl acetate.

5. Composition of claim 4 wherein the major component of said copolymer is the ethylenically unsaturated m,,B-d icarboxylic acid monoester.

6. A process of sizing textile filaments which comprises treating the filaments with the benzine solution of claim 4.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Re. 24,206 Rowland et a1. Aug. 28, 1956 1,133,432 Eichler Mar. 30, 1915 1,998,544 Jochum et al Apr. 23, 1935 

4. AS A NOVEL TEXTILE SIZING COMPOSITION, A BENZINE SOLUTION OF A COPOLYMER OF POLYMERIZABLE INGREDIENTS CONSISTING OF (1) A MONOESTER OF AN ETHYLENICALLY UNSATURATED A,B-DICARBOXYLIC ACID AND A MONOHYDRIC ALCOHOL OF MORE THAN 8 CARBON ATOMS; (2) A MONOMER SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF (A) AN ESTER OF ACRYLIC ACID AND A MONOHYDRIC ALCOHOL OF MORE THAN 8 CARBON ATOMS, (B) AN ESTER OF METHACRYLIC ACID AND A MONOHYDRIC ALCOHOL OF MORE THAN 8 CARBON ATOMS, (C) A DIESTER OF AN A,B-ETHYLENICALLY UNSATURATED DICARBOXYLIC ACID AND A MONOHYDRIC ALCOHOL OF MORE THAN 8 CARBON ATOMS, AND (D) A VINYL ESTER OF A FATTY ACID OF MORE THAN 8 CARBON ATOMS: AND (3) A COMPOUND SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF STYRENE, ISOBUTYLENE, BUTADIENE, AND VINYL ACETATE. 